It was a disappointing day for Indian badminton at the Taipei Open Super 300 on Tuesday, as none of the country’s young shuttlers managed to secure a spot in the main draw of the singles events. Despite flashes of promise, all Indian participants bowed out during the qualification rounds, underlining the challenging road ahead for the country’s next generation of players.
Among the men, Manraj Singh and Raghu Mariswamy offered early hope with gritty wins in their opening matches. Manraj staged a strong comeback against Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Kai, prevailing 19-21, 21-13, 21-11. Raghu too fought back from a game down to defeat Macau’s Pui Pang Fong 14-21, 21-16, 21-14. However, both faltered in the decisive second round.
Manraj lost a heart-breaking three-game thriller to Malaysia’s Tan Jia Jie, going down 21-9, 19-21, 20-22 after failing to convert a match point. Raghu was unable to carry forward his momentum and succumbed to Indonesia’s Moh Zaki Ubaidillah in straight games, 16-21, 17-21.
In the women’s singles, Mansi Singh emerged as India’s lone first-round victor, edging out Chinese Taipei’s Tsai Hsin-Pei 22-20, 14-21, 21-17. But she was unable to advance further, falling to Thailand’s rising star Pitchamon Opatniputh in a one-sided match, 17-21, 10-21.
Other Indian hopes in the men’s qualifiers also ended early. Aryamann Tandon battled valiantly before losing 27-25, 10-21, 8-21 to Malaysia’s Kok Jing Hong. Meanwhile, Mithun Manjunath, despite taking the first game, lost steam and went down 21-17, 19-21, 9-21 to Tan Jia Jie, who proved to be a thorn in India’s campaign.
The women’s singles contingent also failed to deliver beyond the qualifiers. Isharani Baruah put up a spirited fight against Pitchamon, narrowly losing 7-21, 23-21, 22-24 in a match that lasted over an hour. Ira Sharma was beaten 7-21, 18-21 by home player Chen Su Yu, and Shreya Lele exited with a 14-21, 16-21 defeat to Japan’s Sorano Yoshikawa.
With none of the Indian qualifiers making it through to the singles main draw, attention will now shift to the doubles events, where experienced pairs are expected to carry the national challenge forward.
